Transportation in Puerto Rico includes a system of roads, highways, freeways, airports, ports and harbors, and railway systems, serving a population of approximately 4 million year-round. It is funded primarily with both local and federal government funds.
Airports
Puerto Rico has a total of 30 airports (3 of which are international), including one in each of the smaller islands of Vieques and Culebra. The largest airport in terms of passenger traffic is Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, and consists of two runways and three concourses. It is by far the busiest airport in Puerto Rico, with direct connections to most major cities in the mainland United States, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Spain.
Puerto Rico has 21 airports with paved runways, of which: 3 airports with more than of runway. 3 airports with runways ranging between and . 15 airports with less than of runway. Puerto Rico also has 8 airports with unpaved runways, all of which have less than of runway.
Airlines based in Puerto Rico
The following are current and former passenger and cargo airlines based in Puerto Rico or with flights to Puerto Rico:
Historical Aeronaves de Puerto Rico (1982-1983) Aerovías Nacionales de Puerto Rico (1936) Puertorriqueña de Aviación (1941) Pan American World Airways Mexicana de Aviación Lufthansa Viasa Aerolíneas Argentinas KLM TWA Eastern Oceanair
Currently or recently operating/licensed
Air Caribbean (defunct) Air Flamenco Dorado Wings (defunct) Executive Air (defunct) Fina Air (defunct) Isla Nena Air Roblex Aviation (defunct) San Juan Aviation Tol Air (defunct) Vieques Air Link American Airlines American Eagle Delta Air Lines Spirit Airlines JetBlue AirTran Airways (defunct) American Trans Air (defunct) United Continental (defunct, merged with United) Copa Airlines Insel Air (defunct) Iberia Airlines Virgin Atlantic US Airways (defunct, merged with American Airlines) PAWA Dominicana (defunct) Southwest Airlines Volaris Norwegian Air Shuttle FedEx Express Cargolux CAL Cargo Airlines Martinair Prinair
Seaports & harbors
Sea-based transportation of any merchandise or persons shipped entirely or even partly by water between U.S. points—either directly or indirectly via one or any number of foreign points—U.S. Federal Law requires that said items or persons must travel in U.S.-built, U.S.-crewed, U.S.-citizen owned vessels that are U.S.-documented by the Coast Guard for such maritime "cabotage" carriage. This transportation/trade restriction includes Puerto Rico under the Jones Act of 1920 (Merchant Marine Act of 1920). The Jones Act and various other United States laws that govern the domestic and domestic-foreign-domestic transportation of merchandise and passengers by water between two points in the United States, including Puerto Rico, have been extended to that island-territory since the initial years of United States' political relations. Currently, the only providers who ship from the United States to Puerto Rico are Crowley Maritime, TOTE Maritime, and Trailer Bridge.
Strictly construed, the Jones Act refers only to Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, (; 19 CFR 4.80 and 4.80(b)), which has come to bear the name of its original sponsor, Sen. Wesley L. Jones. Another law that was enacted in 1886 requires essentially the same standards for the transport of passengers between U.S. points, directly or indirectly transported through foreign ports or foreign points (46 App. U.S.C. 289; 19 CFR 4.80(a)). However, since the mid-1980s, as part of a joint effort between the cruise ship industry that serves Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican politicians such as then Resident Commissioner, U.S. non-voting Representative Baltasar Corrada del Río, obtained a limited-exception since no U.S. cruise ships that were Jones Act-eligible were participating in said market.
The application of these coastwise shipping laws and their imposition on Puerto Rico consist in a serious restriction of free trade and have been under scrutiny and controversy due to the apparent contradictory rhetoric involving the United States Government's sponsorship of free trade policies around the world, while its own national shipping policy (cabotage law) is essentially mercantilist and based on notions foreign to free-trade principles.
Major ports San Juan Port - Mainly divided in three: one in Old San Juan which includes cargo/freight and cruise ships, the Pan American Port Terminal in Isla Grande section mostly for cruise ships, and Puerto Nuevo Bay, exclusively for freight/cargo ships the belong to Guaynabo City not to San Juan. It is the main port of the island. Port of Ponce - The second largest port in Puerto Rico and can handle both freight/cargo and cruise ships. It is currently undergoing a significant expansion (see Port of the Americas), with plans to convert it to an international shipping hub. Port of Mayagüez - The third largest port in Puerto Rico. It is mainly used for freight/cargo ships but is also home to the Dominican Republic-Puerto Rico passenger ferry and has also been used for cruise ships.
In July 2025, is confirmed by the Department of Puerto Rico, the creation of an interactive map of the logistics and freight ecosystem in Puerto Rico, a tool that aims to centralize information on the sector and position the island as a competitive logistics hub on a global scale, compared to other leading jurisdictions in Latin America, Europe and Asia.
Minor ports and harbors The following are minor ports and harbors used for small freight/cargo ships, fishing vessels, and private boats/yachts: Guánica, Guayanilla, Guayama, Fajardo, Culebra, and Vieques.
There are ferries between Ceiba-Culebra and Ceiba-Vieques; between San Juan and Cataño; and between Ponce and Caja de Muertos (Coffin Island).
There are several private marinas in Puerto Rico for boats and yachts, the largest being Puerto del Rey in Fajardo and Club Naútico de Ponce.
Federal restrictions
The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (also known as the Jones Act) prevents foreign-flagged ships from carrying cargo between two American ports (a practice known as cabotage). Because of the Jones Act, foreign ships inbound with goods from Central and South America, Western Europe, and Africa cannot stop in Puerto Rico, offload Puerto Rico-bound goods, load mainland-bound Puerto Rico-manufactured goods, and continue to U.S. ports. Instead, they must proceed directly to U.S. ports, where distributors break bulk and send Puerto Rico-bound manufactured goods to Puerto Rico across the ocean by U.S.-flagged ships.
Puerto Rican consumers ultimately bear the expense of transporting goods again across the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea on U.S.-flagged ships subject to the extremely high operating costs imposed by the Jones Act. This also makes Puerto Rico less competitive with Caribbean ports as a shopping destination for tourists from home countries with much higher taxes (like mainland states) even though prices for non-American manufactured goods in theory should be cheaper since Puerto Rico is much closer to Central and South America, Western Europe, and Africa.
The local government of Puerto Rico has requested several times to the U.S. Congress to exclude Puerto Rico from the Jones Act restrictions without success. The most recent measure has been taken by the 17th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico through R. Conc. del S. 21. These measures have always received support from all the major local political parties. In 2013 the Government Accountability Office published a report which concluded that "repealing or amending the Jones Act cabotage law might cut Puerto Rico shipping costs" and that "shippers believed that opening the trade to non-U.S.-flag competition could lower costs." The report, however, concluded that the effects of modifying the application of the Jones Act for Puerto Rico are highly uncertain for both Puerto Rico and the United States, particularly for the U.S. shipping industry and the military preparedness of the United States.
In February 2025, Governor Jennifer Gonzalez-Colón announced a request by the government of Puerto Rico for a permanent exemption from air cabotage laws in Puerto Rico.
Rail transportation
Current systems Tren Urbano - Provides passenger train service between various points of the San Juan Metropolitan Area, between Bayamón, Guaynabo and several important sections of San Juan. Port of Ponce Railroad - The only industrial railroad operating on the entire island and located within the Puerto de Las Américas in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It consists of a small railroad yard and a railroad ferry terminal. About twice monthly, the railroad ferry transports tanker cars on a barge between Mobile, Alabama and the Ponce rail terminal, delivering chemicals for Puerto Rico's pharmaceutical industry.Railroads of Puerto Rico: Ferrocarril Chemex Chemex Railroad operation in Ponce. Tourism Railroads - Several locomotives are used for tourism and recreational services, such as "El Parque del Tren" in Bayamón (demolished to make way for the Tren Urbano)Bayamon Tourism, RadioSabor.es and the historic narrow gauge old sugarcane plantation "Tren del Sur" in Arroyo (currently abandoned but with plans for restoration).Government of Puerto Rico State Historic Conservation Plan 2006-2010
Defunct systems
The Puerto Rico train system flourished during the late 19th and early 20th century due to a large sugar cane industry there. Most, if not all, of these system were privately owned. Vieques, an island-municipality, also had the system connecting its sugar cane plantations.
During the 1870s and 1890s, Puerto Rico did not have a national railroad system, but the city of Mayagüez did have a small passenger rail system for transporting its residents mainly along the Mendez Vigo Avenue.
The main system can be traced back to 1891, when the northern line was built between San Juan (Martín Peña sector) and Manatí. The system was expanded to include all the western coastal towns, providing a link which would allow passengers to travel between the northern and southern parts of the island in less than a day for the first time in its history. Before its downfall, the Puerto Rico railroad system operated in all major cities, with tracks and stations along most of the coastal towns and direct lines to all major sugar refineries.
However, when Puerto Rico changed its mostly agricultural economy to an industrialized one, and the U.S. and Puerto Rican governments started investing heavily in interstate highways and freeways, the railroad business soon collapsed. Passenger travel ceased in 1953, while the commercial train system (mostly for the sugar cane industry) continued operating until 1957.
Road transportation
Puerto Rico has an extensive system of roads and highways featuring tolled freeways (autopistas). Some are designated as Interstate Highways; although these routes do not connect to the contiguous United States, and are unsigned as such, they still receive funding in a similar fashion to the other Interstates on the U.S. mainland. In total, there are more than 8,950 miles (14,400 km, 1999 est.) of paved road. Some of the major highways are:
PR-1 - Original main road between San Juan and Ponce before the completion of PR-52. It is now mostly used by people living nearby and as a scenic route. PR-2 - Main freeway/highway/urban primary highway between/through Ponce, Mayagüez, Aguadilla, and Arecibo. Original main highway between Arecibo and San Juan before completion of PR-22 (currently undergoing a conversion to a freeway between Ponce and Mayagüez). This is the longest road in Puerto Rico. PR-3 - (65th Infantry Avenue) Original main highway/urban primary highway between/through Salinas, Guayama, Humacao, Fajardo and San Juan (before completion of PR-52, PR-53, PR-66, and PR-26).